Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods and systems for performing a search and more particularly to defining a subject matter area for a set of desired skills and searching for a subject matter expert matching that subject matter area.
Data on social networks is about individuals and their connections and includes evidence, either direct or implied, about an individual proficiency in various topics. For example, a social network site may include a profile for a user that includes a list of skills, work history, various professional and/or personal endorsements, etc. Such information can be useful for a business or other entity to locate individuals with skills that are needed by that business. For example, a business or other entity can use such a pool of data about users, their skills, and their proficiency in each of those skills to find users who are potential experts in a given subject matter area for which they have a need. To do so, businesses generally use a simple search that takes a set of skills and finds users who possess at least one of those skills. Users who possess one or more skills are returned and then the result set is ranked. The more skills in that set that an individual possesses, the higher their rank and the earlier they appear in the results. Some systems may also base the ranking step on the proficiency in the skills that a user possesses. If two users possess the same proper subset of skills in, but one has higher proficiency, that user is ranked ahead of the other. However, such searches are limited in that they rely heavily on the identification of the skills used for the search which, if not properly defined, i.e., too broad, too narrow, incorrectly worded, etc., will cause the search to miss qualified candidates. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and systems for identifying, ranking, and displaying subject matter experts on social networks.